Agency delays naming a director

SALEM -- An agency that handles animal welfare efforts in the area has postponed choosing a director. Last month, Pete Johnson, president of Salem Humane Society Inc., said he expected the nonprofit agency's board to decide at its Monday meeting on a director for the group. But the board opted to put off the decision for one to two months, Johnson said today. The panel decided there was no immediate need to appoint a director. "We're in no rush," Johnson said. He added that he may have spoke prematurely in predicting a decision on the matter this week. The group has narrowed its director search to three candidates, whom he didn't identify. Besides searching for a new director, the agency also is scouting for a location in or near Salem on which to build an animal shelter. Two locations, both in Salem, are being considered, Johnson said. Although the Salem Area Humane Society was formed in November 2000, it wasn't until December that it won a long court battle for control of money from a trust fund founded to benefit animals.